news

New Gut Cell Atlas reveals genetic origins of Crohn’s disease

Posted: 10 September 2021 | | No comments yet

The Gut Cell Atlas comprises 428,000 cells in the gut and sheds light on the origin of Crohn’s disease and other intestinal diseases.

Holographic scan of intestines in woman's hands

Researchers at Newcastle University and Cambridge University, both UK, in collaboration with the Human Cell Atlas, have developed a highly extensive map called the Gut Cell Atlas that could pave the way to identifying potential drug targets for gut diseases such as Crohn’s disease.

“By studying multiple regions of the human gut throughout development, childhood and adulthood we have created a unique, detailed map of the healthy human gut,” explained first author Dr Rasa Elmentaite. “This Gut Cell Atlas reveals complex developmental events, including how the immune and nervous systems develop in the healthy gut and identifies important differences along the intestines. The data is openly available to other researchers studying the gut and will undoubtedly contribute to future discoveries.”

The atlas was created using single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial analysis techniques to reveal which genes were active in each cell through time and across 12 regions of the intestines. The study also included gut biopsy tissue from children with Crohn’s disease. This, in combination with the data from healthy development, is providing new insights into rare and common diseases of the intestines.

 

Reserve your FREE place

 


Are you looking to optimise antibody leads in your drug discovery? Register for this webinar to find out how!

30 July 2025 | 10:00 AM BST | FREE Webinar

Join this webinar to hear from Dr. Lei Guo as she shares how early insights into liability, PK, stability, and manufacturability can help you optimise antibody leads in early drug discovery – and mitigate downstream risks later in development.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How to assess key developability risks early
  • How in silico modelling and in vitro testing can be combined to predict CMC risks earlier in discovery stage
  • How micro-developability strategies are tailored for complex or novel formats

Don’t miss your chance to learn from real-world leaders

Register Now – It’s Free!

 

“This Gut Cell Atlas is already shedding new light on the origins of Crohn’s and other intestinal diseases. For example, we identified three key cells that attract immune cells to form lymphoid tissue during development and showed that this same developmental pathway may cause Crohn’s disease. This knowledge is helping researchers identify potential new drug targets for gut diseases,” stated senior author Dr Kylie James.

The Gut Cell Atlas is part of the effort to create a Human Developmental Cell Atlas (HDCA) which aims to further understanding of human development to improve disease diagnoses and treatments.

The Gut Cell Atlas study was published in Nature.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *